Invisible (U2 song): Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 06:44, 7 February 2014
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"Invisible" is a song by Irish rock band U2, believed to be included on the band's upcoming 13th studio album.[1] On 2–3 February 2014, it was available as a free digital download through the iTunes Store for 24 hours, with Bank of America giving $1 for each download of the track to (RED), an organisation co-founded by Bono, to fight AIDS. Since 4 February, it has been available as a regular download, with all the proceeds also going to (RED). The electro-tinged rock anthem was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. A forthcoming music video for the song was directed by Mark Romanek.
Background and release
U2 has been working on its 13th studio album with producer Danger Mouse since 2011.[2] In November 2013, the band released its first new song in four years, "Ordinary Love", recorded for the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. The second song released after the break, "Invisible", is reportedly the first track that the band has finished recording for the upcoming studio album, which is scheduled for release in mid-2014. However, the song is not the first official single to promote the album, but a "sort of a sneak preview — to remind people we exist," as Bono told USA Today.[1] The song also launches a partnership between (RED), an organisation founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver, and Bank of America to fight AIDS.[3]
On 2 February 2014, a part of "Invisible" was unveiled in a form of a Super Bowl XLVIII commercial,[4][5] and made available as a free download from iTunes for 24 hours, with Bank of America giving $1 for each download of the track to (RED) and its recipient, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.[6] According to the band's website, the total sum raised was $3,138,470.[7] On 4 February 2014, the song was made available as a regular digital download,[8] with all the proceeds also going to (RED).[7]
Writing and composition
In a radio interview with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe, Bono said that during the process of writing material for the new album they "went back to why we wanted to be in a band in the first place. It opened up a whole valve for me writing and it was a dam burst of sorts. Punk rock and electronic [music] was when it started for us. We were listening to the Ramones and Kraftwerk and you can hear both of those things on 'Invisible'."[9]
"Invisible" is an electro-tinged rock song with "textured, characterful feel." It begins with a "brittle, electronic passage," reminiscent of Joy Division.[10] Simple keyboard movements[11] and chiming guitars lead to a "sky-scraping chorus,"[10] with features lyrics "harnessing notions of self-respect, both the personal kind and the universal-struggle kind."[12] The final part of the song has a "chart-worthy rock lyric," "There is no them, there's only us," typical for U2.[10]
Critical reception
In a positive review of the song, Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times called the track "a pleasant surprise and a fairly typical track by the world's biggest rock band," commenting that it "features the kind of grand, aspirational chorus that Bono and buds were born to birth and flies on the wings of a typically sticky guitar melody courtesy of the Edge," and that lyrically, the song conveys "some sort of grandly unified message that speaks truth to power without being too political about it," also typical for U2.[12]
Spin magazine's Marc Hogan called the song "a ringing stadium-rock anthem in All That You Can't Leave Behind mold," with Bono singing "like he's posing for a 21st-century Mount Rushmore." He also commented that "an event expected to be watched by more than 100 million people isn't a bad time for a song founded in togetherness."[13]
MIichael Cragg of The Guardian wrote of the song, "There's a more textured, characterful feel to it all. By the final coda...you sort of feel happy to have them [U2] back."[10]
Music video
A forthcoming music video for "Invisible" was directed by Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go, One Hour Photo), and shot in black-and-white. Footage from the video, of the band performing the song, was used in the Super Bowl commercial. The full-length video is said to premiere "later in the week."[7]
Track listing
- Digital download[8]
- "Invisible" ((RED) Edit Version) – 3:47
Personnel
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References
- ^ a b Gardner, Elysa (31 January 2014). "U2 thanks fans -- and taxpayers -- with new track". USA Today. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ Grow, Kory (13 November 2013). "U2 Eye Spring Release for New Album: Report". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Invisible - Free For (RED)". U2.com. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ "U2 "Invisible" - Bank of America in support of (RED)". YouTube. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ "U2 Unveil New Song, 'Invisible,' During Super Bowl XLVIII". MTV. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ Grow, Kory (2 February 2014). "U2 Offer Free Downloads of New Track 'Invisible' to Help Fight AIDS". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ a b c "Three Million And Counting". U2.com. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ a b "Invisible (RED) Edit Version - Single by U2". Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ "Bono shares concerns that U2 'were on the verge of irrelevance'". The Guardian. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ a b c d Cragg, Michael (3 February 2014). "U2 – Invisible: New music". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ Kaye, Ben; Young, Alex (2 February 2014). "Download: U2′s new song "Invisible"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ a b Roberts, Randall (3 February 2014). "Review: U2's 'Invisible' presents band at its aspirational best". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
- ^ Hogan, Marc (2 February 2014). "Download U2's Windswept 'Invisible' for Free and Help Fight AIDS". Spin. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
